


Its Hard Enough To Love Me

by a_grumpy_kitty (orphan_account)



Category: Rhett & Link
Genre: Angst, Could sorta be read as infidelity, Drunken Confessions, Love Confessions, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-09
Updated: 2020-02-09
Packaged: 2021-02-28 05:13:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,714
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22639051
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/a_grumpy_kitty
Summary: “Me n you. It shoulda been me and you. You know that don’t ya? It- we shoulda been together. Everything would be so much fuckin’ better if it was me and you. It’s so unfair. It's not fair Rhett. I love you so much I think I could die.”Or: The one where Link drinks a bottle of rum and breaks down in his bathtub.
Relationships: Christy Neal/Link Neal (background), Rhett McLaughlin/Link Neal
Comments: 5
Kudos: 49





	Its Hard Enough To Love Me

**Author's Note:**

> I feel like no one really talks about the fact that Link drank a bottle of rum alone in his bathtub after getting back from his honeymoon.
> 
> Title from Lets Get Married by Bleachers

“I’ll be home around midnight. Don’t wait up for me. Love you, babe!” Christy said, kissing Link on the cheek as she walked out the door. It was the first time she had gone out without Link since they had gotten back from their honeymoon, 4 days prior. Some kind of girls night out, she had told Link. He smiled and waved goodbye as she got into her friend's car and they pulled out of the driveway. It had been almost 5 months since Link had been alone like this. No Christy, no Rhett. Just Link and his thoughts in a big, empty house. Unsure of what to do with himself, he began to wander. They hadn’t bought the house too long ago, just before the wedding. The walls were mostly bare with the exception of a few family photos and a piece of art or two. There were still quite a few boxes of photos and things to go through and decide what to hang up or keep put away. With nothing else to do for the evening, Link grabbed one of the photo boxes and began to go through it, separating it all into two piles. He went through a few more boxes, not all of them were pictures, some of the other boxes were just knick-knacks and other random decorations. The envelope of wedding photos had arrived the day they came back from their honeymoon. It had been left on the kitchen table so they could go through it together over the weekend. Something about the idea of looking through those specific pictures made Link feel uneasy. He knew Christy wanted to go through them together, but another part of Link felt like he needed to see them alone first. With a deep breath, he picked up the envelope and sat on the couch. It was easier than he thought, mostly pictures of friends and family. A few of him and Christy dancing and exchanging vows. He felt stupid for feeling worried until he came across the type of picture he was really worried about. Immediately Links eyes welled up with tears looking at the photograph. It was of him and Rhett, both dressed in their nicest suits. Rhett with his arm slung around Links shoulder and Link with an arm around Rhett's waist. Rhett was laughing openly, and Link was looking at him with a wide smile and love in his eyes. If Link tried hard enough, he could almost imagine it was their wedding picture instead. It was too much. He put the pictures back and threw everything else back into the places he had taken it out of. He felt sick to his stomach and the tears in his eyes wouldn’t seem to go away. His first thought was that he needed a drink, maybe two. He grabbed the first bottle he saw and poured a large glass. He took a long sip and winced as the alcohol burned his throat. He had never been a fan of rum, he thought as he looked down at the label, but he kept drinking.  
Link was lightheaded and more than tipsy as he stumbled his way to the bathroom, rum bottle in hand. Half of the bottle was gone and he had given up on using a glass, he was just drinking straight from the bottle at this point. In his other hand was the picture of himself and Rhett from the wedding. Originally, he had come to the bathroom with the intention of peeing or maybe puking, but he ended up sprawled out in the bathtub instead, long legs hanging over the edge. He held up the picture and allowed himself to look over it, again and again until he was choking on his own sobs. He felt pathetic, drunk and alone, crying in an empty bathtub over a photo that should be nothing but a happy memory. He tossed the picture out of his hand and watched it flutter to the ground beside the tub. He felt like screaming or maybe he just wanted to cry louder. He fished his phone out of his pocket, knowing that what he was about to do would be a bad idea, but he was far too drunk to care. The phone rang three times before someone picked up.  
“Hey buddy!” The deep honeyed voice said from the other end of the phone. At just hearing Rhett’s voice, the sobbing cry picked up again.  
“Link? You okay? What’s goin’ on?”  
Link sniffled loudly before answering.  
“I think I fucked up so bad, Rhett. I’m so fucked up, what’s wrong with me? I’m so stupid. I-” Link was rambling, his liquor-heavy words were slurring together.  
“Are you drunk?” Rhett interrupted suddenly.  
“Well yeah, I’m drunk. Of course, I’m drunk. I’m drunk and I’m alone and I’m so stupid, I’m so so stupid, why-”  
“Whoa, whoa we need to take a few steps back, okay?” Rhett interrupted again. Link nodded before realizing Rhett couldn’t see him and agreed out loud.  
“Alright, let’s start with why the hell you’re this wasted and why you’re cryin’ like this. Where’s Christy at?”  
Link sniffled again and answered his friend.  
“Chris went out with some friends, ain’t been out with ‘er friends since before the wedding. Left me here.”  
“Well, what happened? Why’re you all worked up like this? You just got married, shouldn’t you be freakin’ ecstatic?”  
“That’s the problem! I just got married and I’m not ecstatic, I’m not even happy, I’m just mad at myself and I’m disappointed and-”  
“Hey, you gotta slow down. What’s got you disappointed? I feel like I’m missin’ somethin’ big here.”  
“I feel like I did the wrong thing, Rhett. I love Christy so much, so so much but I feel like I shouldn’ta done this. Things shoulda been different. I’m so mad they aren’t and I don’t even think I really knew how much I felt like this until I went through the wedding pictures, the goddamn wedding pictures. I wish things were different so bad.”  
Link’s quiet tears had now turned back into hiccupy sobs. The bottle of rum was almost gone, and his body was completely limp in the tub, save for the arm holding the phone to his ear. Rhett was quiet for a long moment, long enough that Link had almost thought he had hung up.  
“What’re you talkin’ about, Link?”  
“Me n you. It shoulda been me and you. You know that don’t ya? It- we shoulda been together. Everything would be so much fuckin’ better if it was me and you. It’s so unfair. It's not fair Rhett. I love you so much I think I could die.” Tears were falling fast down Links cheeks as he confessed years worth of emotions he had kept hidden, even from himself.  
“You’re just sayin’ that cause you’re drunk. When you wake up in the mornin’ you won’t even remember. You’re just feelin’ melodramatic cause Christys gone, it ain’t real.” Rhett was desperately trying to get Link to stop talking, keep him from saying things they both knew he shouldn’t be saying.  
“You know that ain’t true. Maybe ‘m not gonna remember but that don’t mean I don’t mean it. Prolly shoulda told you sooner, t’ be honest but I dunno if I even really knew.” He let out a pathetic, tear-laced chuckle at his own sad words.  
“Link-”  
“Wish I could kiss you, ya know. Wonder what it’d be like to haveta stand on my tiptoes to kiss someone. Wish I could fall asleep next to you ‘n not her. It ain’t the same. “Member when we were kids n we used to share a bed? I always slept better next to you. ”  
“You gotta stop, Link. You needa hang up the phone and sober up before Chris gets home.” Rhett began pleading with his best friend. There was a sudden burst of heartache in Rhett’s chest, painful and tight.  
“ ‘m sorry. ‘M so sorry everything has to be like this. Love you so much, I can hardly stand it. ’M just so sorry.”  
“I’m sorry too, baby.” The word slipped out of Rhett’s mouth before he could think to stop it. Rhett wasn’t sure when he had begun to cry, but there were now hot tears burning his cheeks. He wanted to be mad at Link, mad that he was doing this after years of nothing but pure friendship, but he couldn’t find it in himself to be anything but mournful over a life he knew they’d never have.  
There was a long silence after that, each of them only hearing the sounds of the others breathing. Links fast, frantic breaths had slowed down into a quiet, calm rhythm. It was a long minute before either of them spoke again.  
“Want you to come over. Will you come over?” Link speech was still slurred, but now it was more from exhaustion than the liquor.  
“You know I can’t do that.”  
“I know. Thought I’d ask anyway.”  
“You should probably sober up. Get some water and get into bed. Don’t want Christy comin’ home and findin’ ya like this, ya know?”  
“Yeah, guess so. I-” Link took a deep, sobering breath before continuing. “I love you, Rhett.” He said it firmly, without the shakey desperation he had said it with earlier. He meant it with everything he had and was letting Rhett know it too.  
“G’night, Link.” He said it softly, letting an unsaid ‘You too’ ring through the air.  
The soft click let Link know the call was over, but he still held the phone to his ear for another minute. He still had about half an hour before Christy was due home, so he pulled himself up and out of the bathtub to tried to get himself together.  
By the time she got home, Link had cleaned up, puked a few times, cried some more, cleaned up again and wrapped himself up in bed. He closed his eyes, pretending to be asleep as she came into the bedroom. He listened to her change before she crawled into bed next to him, placing a soft kiss on the back of his head. One last tear fell from his closed eyes as he fell asleep.

**Author's Note:**

> Thinking about writing a part 2 with Rhetts pov! If anyone would be interested in that lmk!


End file.
